Just Beyond the Darkness
by Willow Witlocke
Summary: Firstly, this is rated TEEN for a reason. Very dark. At least at first. Basically, he gets sick with a disease that only halfas can get and is dying. The Void is slowly overtaking his soul and he can see, just beyond it, the person making them sick. He has to defeat said evil person before more can die. This is written by SakaneMiku, but I'm a very happy person, I swear!
1. Chapter 1

In ghost lore, there is a place that you can only reach if you fade away; fade away from existence. It's a deep, dark, void of deep, dark, inky blackness. You cannot come back and you are always alone.

To be honest, it's a really depressing place. Or so I've heard. I'm such a _lucky_ person I get to visit there myself.

My body is weakening, slowly, surely, as my ghost half fades away. My human body does not get exception to this disease that's infecting my body. This strange disease that only affects halfas. That is, it only affects me and Vlad, and Vlad seems to be immune to it. So basically it's just me.

Sam and Tucker have been so worried and the ghosts have been coming around trying out various cures. I suppose the upside to all this is that the ghosts aren't annoying the town, so my illness hasn't been an issue. I'm just hoping that once I'm gone they go away for good.

Oh, I've lost you, haven't I? Oops.

Friday, April 3rd; Casper High School, Amity Park

"Hey, Danny!" Sam says lightly, poking my elbow. "Wanna go somewhere tonight?"

"You mean, somewhere where you don't have to run around following me?" I laugh. "Sure. But why tonight, specifically?"

"Idiot. You forgot your own birthday," she replies.

"I actually did," I say, and face-palm."Man, I'm more of an idiot than my dad."

"It makes it even worse because it's your 16th birthday. Wow, Danny," Sam smirks sarcastically.

"Can we get off of this subject?" I ask. "Okay, so where do you want to go?"

"I was thinking I'd have someone make something for us and we'd just sit on the hill. Is that all right?"

"Sure. Oh, there's the bell- I'll see you later!"

* * *

That night, after it gets dark, Sam and I go out on the hill. We talk for a little while, but for some reason I'm having a hard time focusing on what she's saying. She begins to look a little worried. When she gets out the cake she brought, I blow out the candles and we have a slice, but the whole time I'm getting more and more light-headed. I just can't seem to focus at all. Soon it's nine o'clock and Sam's new curfew. We stand to go back to our houses.

Or, at least, we try to.

Sam has no problems but I simply cannot stand up and walk down the hill. I'm wobbly and weak, like I've got a fever. It's strange. I don't feel sick. So I try to go ghost and fly out, but when I do, I almost pass out from a sickly hot feeling spreading through me. My stomach hurts and I'm achy.

That's when Sam really starts to get worried. She tells me to return back to human form and I comply, only to find that the sick feeling has come with me. She then supports me as we walk down the hill.

Sweat runs down my face and I can barely stay upright. I don't know what's going on. In fact, as we approach my house I'm losing touch with my surroundings and beginning to see blackness in my peripheral vision. It's the deep, dark blackness of an endless void.

All I know is I need to sleep. I can't stay upright.

It's in my living room that I pass out.

When I wake up, I'm in my bed and Clockwork is leaning over me. His red eyes are filled with concern.

I think they are, anyway.

"So, Daniel," he says softly. "You're awake."

"Clockwork," I say. Or I whisper in a rasping tone. My throat is really dry.

"Can you tell me exactly how you felt yesterday before passing out?" he asks.

"Um... I was really tired and light-headed," I say. "I couldn't really focus on anything. And when I went ghost, I felt feverish and nauseous. As I was walking I got more and more loopy, and I began to see black in my peripheral vision. And then I fell asleep."

"That's not good," he mutters. Turning to me he then says, "What was the darkness like? Did you feel cold? Did you think it seemed big, or endless?"

"Yeah, actually," I reply. "It felt like a void."

"Aw, crap," he mutters. "That's REALLY not good. And was it only in your peripheral vision?"

"Yes, sir," I reply. "Only in the corners of my eyes."

"Oh, thank the Master of the Universe," he says. "We have time. Listen to me, Daniel. You have to stay in your bed and not move, not for any reason whatsoever. Your movement is now restricted to feeding yourself, do you understand?"

"I understand your words, but not why I can't do anything. What if the other ghosts who aren't allies come and ravage the town?"

"You want to know the truth, Daniel?" Clockwork asks seriously.

"Yes, I do!" I reply.

"Are you sure you're ready? It's pretty serious," he warns.

"Of course I am. Would you just tell me already and let me find out what's wrong with me?" I ask. "You know, don't you? I can feel that you aren't telling me something."

"You're sick," he replies.

"Weeell, really?" I say. "I had NO idea."

"You're sick with a disease that only halfas like yourself can get, Daniel," he says. "I haven't seen it in hundreds of years."

"Would you just tell me what it is already?!" I practically whisper-scream, since my voice doesn't go any louder.

"Daniel," he begins. "Your ghost half is fading away into the void."


	2. Chapter 2

"What do you mean, my ghost half is fading away into the void?" I demand, almost angrily.

"Well, I would've thought you knew about the void, Daniel," Clockwork replies.

"News flash: I don't live in the Ghost Zone! Of_ course_ I know what that means," I say sarcastically. "Really, how does anybody not know what the void is?"

"I see," he replies carefully. "As I'm not entirely sure whether or not you meant that, I'm just going to tell you what it is. The Void is a place that ghosts who die of fading end up. According to legend-you know what, I'll just let Ghostwriter tell you what it is. He's so much better at telling legends than me."

"No, no, continue," I say. "I'd rather not wait for Ghostwriter to get away from his keyboard. That could take days."

"If you're sure," says Clockwork, with a tiny half-smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Although that's true. According to the legend about the Void, it's a huge landscape with no end, no floors, and no ceiling. It's empty and black, and it's always freezing cold. For ghosts with an ice core it's not so bad," he added as an afterthought.

"All right," I reply. "Now, what does fading mean?"

"Fading is...well, it's fading," Clockwork says. "Your ghostly soul is simply removing itself from existence on this plane."

"That's fantastic," I say, also sarcastically. "Just great. So, what you mean is, half of me is dying."

"Not just half of you," he replies. "All of you. That's the odd part about this disease. Normally, the fading only would affect your ghostly half- that is, it would die and you would be fine, albeit with no memories of being part ghost. But this disease is different. It binds your two halves together so tightly they could not be unwound by anything. And then it begins to kill you. As your ghostly half fades, your human half dies."

"Uh huh," I reply skeptically. "So, you got all this from the fact that I have a fever and passed out? Are you sure you aren't overreacting?"

"I talked to Sam," he says seriously. "She says that when you reverted to your ghostly half, you seemed so transparent you were barely there. That and the fact that you saw the void out of your peripheral vision is more than enough symptoms for me. I _have _seen this before, Daniel."

"You have? When?"

"A long time ago," Clockwork replies, his expression suddenly closing. I get the message- no questions were welcome in this direction.

Clockwork gets up, and with a last admonishment towards me to not move (at all, under any circumstances!) vanishes back into the Ghost Zone.

* * *

"All right, Tucker," Sam says in a tone of authority. "We have to find a cure."

"For Danny?" Tucker asks incredulously. "I thought Clockwork said it was something that had only one cure and it was ghostly."

"I don't care," Sam says. "We know the name, right?"

"No."

"Well, find out what it is!"

"Okay," Tucker picks up the phone and starts to call Danny. Sam proceeds to knock it out of his hand.

"What do you think you're _doing?!_" she demands. "We have to let him rest!"

"So we're trying to cure him," Tucker replies. "And we're not speaking to him. Is that what I'm hearing?"

"Of course not, idiot. When Clockwork talked to me and figured out what it was, he said that Danny couldn't move at all," Sam says. "Don't you think that makes me extremely worried? If it's bad enough that he's not even supposed to move then he probably doesn't have a lot of time left!"

"Don't make it sound like he's going to die!" Tucker protests. "He's half-ghost! He's not allowed to die!"

"Clockwork said that he might," Sam says seriously. "Which is why we have to hurry. So use that technology, man!"

"Yes ma'am," Tucker replies. He knows not to mess with an angry Sam. Into one of the search networks he normally uses, he inputs a search for "half-ghost diseases" and comes up with an old medical file that dates back nearly 300 years, back to when the country was just starting to be settled. It reads:

_We have not as yet found a cure for Ms. Smith, but the symptoms are as follows: in the first stage, it begins with fever and complete inability to move. As it progressed Ms. Smith began to 'fade', if you will, from her bed, and in the most advanced stage she became delirious and cried out about a deep darkness hovering right before her eyes. She complained of somebody right behind the darkness. She called him the figure robed in black. We dismissed this, of course, as the ramblings of a seriously ill woman. All of the contemporary cures have had no effect on Ms. Smith and we fear her time is limited. _

"Oh my cheesepuffs," Sam whispers quietly. "Keep going."

_We have consulted with a mysterious and powerful figure in a purple cloak as he claims he can help Ms. Smith. He has called it 'the Void death' and as we have no other name for it, we have decided to use this name. _

* * *

"So, this thing is called 'the Void death'?" I ask.

"Yes, Danny," Sam says. "They couldn't cure her. Neither could Clockwork, in the end. And this is the only time this has ever happened before. Danny, aren't you scared you're going to die?"

"No, of course not," I scoff. "Okay, maybe a little. But I trust Clockwork, don't you? I'm sure he's got a cure."

"What about this 'figure robed in black'?" Tucker interrupts, leaning over the bed. "Have you seen this guy?"

"Um, no," I reply. "I haven't even seen any more of the Void since that night. Why would I have seen this guy?"

"I take it you did some research, Samantha," says a quiet voice behind us. "Then you know about my other young charge, Victoria Smith."

"Was Victoria a halfa?"

"Yes, Daniel, she was. In fact she was just like you," Clockwork replies. "You are even the same age she was."

"Who's this guy in black she talked about?" Tucker interjects, yet again.

"Man, Tucker, one-track mind," I joke.

"I suppose that now that you know about Victoria and my efforts in vain, you need to know the rest of the story," sighs Clockwork, and he begins to tell us the story of Victoria Smith, the first halfa.

* * *

AN time! Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in like forever, but last week I went from sporadic computer access to 0 computer access. I take what I can get.

Anyway, cliffhanger! I know you guys just love 'em!

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters or Danny Phantom in general. However, I do own my brain! And all its crazy weird contents!


	3. Chapter 3

Clockwork takes a deep breath, as if he's nervous. "Victoria Smith did not become a halfa accidentally. Actually, I don't even think it was something she 'became': it was more like she was already one and just came into it around age 14. I never understood it. Right away, she was completely comfortable with her abilities. She never had to learn them. She would think about it and say 'Oh, I forgot' and then she could do it. Maybe that was why she got sick.

"There was too much responsibility on her to protect her village from the ghosts which would roam the world. That long ago, the ghost zone was a mere dream in my head. All the ghosts were here, and there was no order whatsoever. In a way she was the hero, too- unlike the other halfa, Vlad, right?" I nod. Clockwork continues, "I believe that whatever is behind the disease targets halfas that work for good and protection, and leaves the ones who don't care."

"Wait just one minute!" Sam interrupts quickly. "What do you mean, whatever is behind the disease? You mean to say it's not just a virus?"

"Let me finish and you'll see!" Clockwork replies coldly. "Anyway, she was two years into her abilities and the ghosts were learning to stay away. Suddenly she felt sick, on her 16th birthday, and when she was fighting one of the few that actually came around, she just passed out. I immediately pulled her out of the ghost's reach and banished it myself, and took her human form back to her parent's house. She lay in a fever for days, tossing and turning. I thought it was a human disease or something. I didn't worry. But then her ghost form began taking over her and she would switch back and forth extremely quickly. She was fading. The delirium started. She muttered about a place that was cold, and black, and endless, and the man standing on the edge of it. She was terrified of him. Absolutely horrified. Slowly she got worse and worse until, one night, about 6 months later, she was gone. There was no body. She was just gone, completely faded away from everything. Nothing was left. And that will happen to you, Daniel, unless I can cure it."

"Oh," I say faintly. "That's great. Absolutely fantastic."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Sam yells angrily. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HE'S GOING TO FADE?! IF YOU COULDN'T CURE VICTORIA, HOW ARE YOU GOING TO-"

"Sam," I cut her off. "It's okay. Clockwork said he can cure it. And I haven't even started to see this man yet. It hasn't progressed that far."

"Aren't you at least a little bit worried?!" Sam asks, softer in tone. "You could die!"

"Well, technically I'm already half-dead," I point out. "How much worse could being all dead be?"

"Don't you dare joke about this!" she retorts. "It's not funny!"

"I must go," Clockwork cuts in. "If I were you two, Samantha, Tucker, I'd let Danny rest and sleep."

"Fine," Sam mutters. Tucker agrees. And then I'm left to my own over-imaginative mind.

* * *

That night, my dreams are tormented, to say the least.

_I'm floating in a black space... it's so dark I can't see my own hands. I can't tell how large it is. It's very cold, even with my ice core. I can't stop shivering._

_"Hello?" 'hellohellohellohellohello..?' echoes my own voice back to me, a million times over._

_I turn around, looking for a light somewhere. It's empty except for a small pinprick of light far off into the distance. I will myself towards it- I can't move normally, I have to think about where I want to go. Speeding up, the light gets larger until my entire world is full of white, bright light, and warmth embraces me. I emerge into another space as though I'm breaking through a cloud. _

_What I see, I have to do a double take to get it all in. It's a valley that seems like something out of a postcard, but guarding it is a man shrouded in black with sickly green and purple...er...stuff around his hands. He gives me a creepy smile and says, "Welcome, Daniel. I hope you're enjoying the little surprise I'm giving you. Soon, your spirit will be here, and I can take care of you halfa scum once and for all."_

_"Who are you?" I demand, determined not to give into his mind games._

_"Me?" he chuckles. "I am the God of the Void, a voodoo master, a magician, a sorcerer. I am the one who rules this place. I am the one who took care of my daughter only to find out her secret. I am the one who destroys those who do not deserve to live. I am the Deathsmith, the bringer of despair. If I were you, I would fear me. Now go... and enjoy the little time left you have in your world."_

_"What? Wait!" I yell, but my voice is lost in a swirl of darkness and light._

I jerk up suddenly.

"The evil man Victoria talked about, this... Deathsmith, he's her... father?"


End file.
